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Sunday, January 22, 2017

PRODUCTIVITY SPECIAL..... Four Times When Aiming For "Good Enough" Is A Great Productivity Strategy

PRODUCTIVITY SPECIAL Four Times When Aiming For
"Good Enough" Is A Great Productivity Strategy

Sometimes one option
isn't any better than the other. You just need to commit to one and move on.

Of course, we all want to do our
very best work. But is there a difference between simply striving for
solid quality and obsessing so much over every last detail that it becomes
completely counterproductive? To put it simply: yes—a big difference.

While I never want to be the one to discourage you from putting
your all into something (hey, your dedication is admirable!), there are a few
specific instances when it’s acceptable to stop chasing absolute perfection.

"Uh, like when?" is likely the question you’re asking
yourself now. Well, here are four times you have permission to stop fixating
and just settle for plain ol’ good enough.

You’ve finally settled on a color scheme for those presentation
slides you’re working on. But then you decide they need one final tweak. You
make a change, but you’re not totally convinced you love it—so you switch it
back. Then you change it once again, only to undo that, and so on and so forth.

If and when you find yourself
stuck in this endless loop of revisions, you’re better off just picking
something and committing to it.

Sound familiar? If you’re continuously flip-flopping back and
forth between two different alternatives, that’s usually a good sign that
there’s not one single option that’s the best—things aren’t always that
clear-cut.

So if and when you find yourself stuck in this endless loop of
revisions, you’re better off just picking something and committing to it.
Because, honestly, either way is likely just fine.

Alright, so this might not
happen too frequently—more often than not, the quality of your
work is important. However, I’m willing to bet that you’ve found yourself in
those circumstances when you just need to get something cranked out.

This is one of those situations
when urgency trumps quality. And, you don’t want your desire for
flawlessness to slow down the train.

So whether your boss just needs to
see some progress on that big project or you need to get a few
thoughts down so you don’t walk into that meeting totally empty-handed, now’s
not the time to obsess over details. Sometimes done is better than perfect, and
good enough will suffice—for now, at least.

We can all be our own worst critics, can’t we? You look at that completed project and see
all of the things you’d like to do better next time. But your coworkers? They
think it looks fine just the way it is—there are no glaring improvements
jumping out at them, unlike the ones that have been haunting your dreams for
the past three nights.

It’s easy to get so wrapped up in your work that every single
minor detail seems like an earth-shatteringly big deal. You’re way too close to
that project, and you’re quickly losing sight of the bigger picture.

In those moments, it’s best to listen to the feedback of your
colleagues. If everybody else is telling you that your final result looks
perfect as is, they likely aren’t lying or trying to maliciously sabotage your
career. Instead, they’re simply attempting to assure you that you did a good
job and don’t need to continue obsessing—you’re already in a spot to meet the
expectations of even your pickiest coworkers.

When you have such high expectations for yourself, it can be tough
to be reminded of the fact that not everything you do is going to be a jaw-dropping,
award-worthy masterpiece.

If everybody else is telling you
that your final result looks perfect as is, they likely aren’t lying.

I know that can be hard to hear and
accept—especially for all of my fellow perfectionists out there—but it’s true: Not
every piece of work can be your absolute best. And, if you’re operating under
that assumption, that’s an exhausting way to live and work.

If you know you’ve reached the point where your end result will
undoubtedly get the job done, it could very well be the perfect time for you to
just wipe your hands of it and take the next steps—rather than continuing to
tweak, change, and refine.

Settling for "good enough" might seem like a completely
counterintuitive or even apathetic approach to your work. But rest assured that
there are definitely times when you’re completely justified in giving up on
that quest for perfection and just accepting things the way they are.

After all, knowing when to call it quits and label something
finished doesn’t always make you lackadaisical. In fact, it can actually make
you that much more efficient and effective.

Remember, your presentation doesn’t need to inspire a standing
ovation, and that proposal doesn’t need to move people to tears. If it
accomplishes what you set out to do, then that’s all you really need.